Alone
by KitKatWei
Summary: The gods didn't tell him anything, big surprise, just that he has to protect four kids and make sure they stay alive. Okay, sounds simple enough. But it gets a lot harder when Percy realizes, after coming out of the Maze, that his entire world has changed, because now? Now, he has no idea where his Wise Girl has gone, and he's alone. Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.


**KitKat here! This is my third fanfic, and it's pretty much what it says in the summary. XD**

**Enjoy!**

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

I promised Annabeth that we'd never be separated again. Oh, gods, if only I knew how wrong I was.

It began when I was summoned to Olympus. I wasn't that freaked out, though. I know what you're thinking - you're going to the palace of the gods and you're not worried? Yea, well, I'm used to that place. I mean, it's not like I've never gone there before. On the contrary, actually.

So I kissed Annabeth goodbye, and Argus drove me to the Empire State Building. When I rode up the elevator, walked through Olympus, and entered the throne "room", which was actually more like the size of a palace, the gods wasted no time beating around the bush. I actually don't know what that means, but Paul uses it a lot, and he is an English teacher, so there.

"We need you to take another quest for us, Perseus," Zeus announced.

I stared at him, unamused. "You're kidding right? This is just some elaborate joke, isn't it?"

"We don't joke, Perseus," Athena told me seriously.

I glanced disbelievingly at Hermes, literally the _god_ of jokes, who looked like he was trying not to laugh. He was stuffing his fist into his mouth while his face turned red and he sounded like he was a drowning cat.

"Right," I said slowly, making my disbelief obvious.

"Percy," my father chastened. "Listen."

I rolled my eyes, but obeyed. I've learned in the past couple years not to mess with the gods. Yea, it took me that long.

"We need you to go to the Maze," Zeus declared.

"Wait, so you're actually serious about this whole "another quest" thing?" I asked. "Really? Couldn't you ask another demigod, that maybe hasn't been the subject of two Great Prophecies?"

"We need our best hero for this, Percy," Poseidon explained. "And _you_ are our best."

Okay, call me cheesy, but that pretty much made me ready to accept anything they threw at me. My father doesn't give praise out lightly, and when he does, he can make me do anything. Except for eating my veggies, of course. Only my Wise Girl could make me do that.

"We need you to go to the Maze," Zeus repeated.

"Yea, I heard you the first time," I muttered. Athena glared at me, so I shut up. Annabeth's mom was the last person I wanted as an enemy, and not just because she would make a dangerous enemy.

"The Maze is located around the Glade, which is where the Gladers live," Zeus informed me. "The Gladers are a group of boys who don't remember anything except their names. They've set up a system to survive, which you will soon learn. We need you to make sure that four people survive - Thomas, Minho, Teresa, and Newt."

"Why are they so important that you have to 'send your best' to protect them? Are they demigods?" I wondered.

"I can't tell you," Zeus answered infuriatingly.

"Can you tell me anything else?" I prompted.

To my disappointment, Zeus shook his head. "It's best you don't know too much," he said. "You're not a very good actor, you know. Yes, yes-" he added quickly as he saw me begin to protest, "-you're a good fighter and all, but no, you're not a good actor. We've told you everything you need to know for now. As I said, the kids there don't know anything much, so to blend in, you don't need to know all that much either. Just what we've told you should suffice."

I sighed. When Zeus makes up his mind, not even Typhon can change it. Then I thought of something - or, more specifically, some_one_.

"What about Annabeth?"

"What about her?" Athena asked, frowning at me.

"Well, is she coming with me?"

"No," Zeus said, crushing my hopes. "Where you're going, there's only boys, and Annabeth will raise too much unwanted attention."

"But I'm supposed to protect someone named 'Teresa'," I quoted. "Isn't that a girl's name?"

"We can't tell you any more," Zeus snapped, his patience wearing. Not that he had much to begin with, but that's not the point. "Just go with it and do... whatever you need to do."

Wow, thanks, O mighty Lord of the Sky, for being ever so specific, like always.

"Are you ready to go now, Perseus?" Zeus interrupted my thoughts.

I was taken aback. "Wait, now, like, right now?" I stammered. "Don't I get to say goodbye, or anything? Annabeth will kill me if I don't!"

Zeus waved his hand dismissively. "We'll talk to her, and your mother and Chiron, but the sooner you go, the better."

I sighed and nodded. "Ready." What else could I have done?

Zeus waved his hand and a glowing blue portal appeared. I took a deep breath and stepped through. Right before I disappeared, I heard Ares' unmistakable voice. "He's gonna get himself pulverized."

The gods are so optimistic.

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><p>I stepped out of the light and found myself in a sort of elevator. The sound of metal grinding together met my ears, and the machine began to move up. I sat down and leaned against the wall to wait. Chains jerked around and pulled me in a seemingly endless ascent while I pondered what the gods had told me.<p>

Thomas. Minho. Teresa. Newt.

I wondered who these kids were. Were they similar to us demigods? Were they demigods _themselves_? I didn't have anything to go on, except their names, and that wasn't much.

Thomas. Minho. Teresa. Newt.

For some reason, their names became a constant mantra in my head, as if they were drilling themselves in so that I would never forget them. They just kept running over and over, making me almost sleepy.

Time passed quickly. Five minutes, ten, twenty, thirty. Suddenly, the elevator stopped.

I looked around. The compartment swayed gently, but nothing happened. Nothing, that was, until a crack of light seeped through the top of the elevator. It grew bigger and bigger, a pair of double sliding doors opening above me.

I looked up. A bunch of boys stared down at me, their eyes curious. They were the most varied group I had ever seen, with ethnicities from all over. Most of them were teenagers, although a couple of them were a bit younger. They didn't look very threatening, considering I had battled monsters for more than half of my life.

"A nicer Greenie than last month, at least."

"That shank's gotta bit of muscle. Could be a Builder."

"Or maybe a Runner."

"That piece of klunk? No way."

I didn't know a lot of the words, but Zeus had told me I should act confused. Well, he didn't _tell_ me, but I could tell that's what he meant.

A rope with a loop at the end of it dropped down in front of me. Without hesitation, I grabbed it and slipped my foot in the loop. I was pulled up quickly, and scrambled to get my bearings.

I was in a courtyard, with walls of stone surrounding us in a perfect square. Thick clumps of ivy ran up the blocks, which stopped in the middle on each side, forming entrances into what I guessed was the Maze. The architecture, though simple, was amazing. I found myself wishing again that Annabeth was here, and it was more than just because I wanted her to admire the walls.

The floor of the courtyard looked like it was made of huge stone blocks, many of them cracked and filled with long grasses and weeds. An odd, dilapidated (wow, Annabeth would be proud of me for using that word) wooden building near one of the corners of the square contrasted greatly with the gray stone. A few trees surrounded it, their roots like gnarled hands digging into the rock floor for food. Another corner of the compound held gardens—from where I was standing I recognized corn, tomato plants, fruit trees, all thanks to the Demeter kids.

Across the courtyard from there stood wooden pens holding sheep and pigs and cows. Grover would've trotted right over to talk to them. A large grove of trees filled the final corner; the closest ones looked crippled and close to dying. I wondered if there were tree nymphs here.

The sky overhead was cloudless and blue, but I couldn't see any sign of the sun despite the brightness of the day. The creeping shadows of the walls didn't reveal the time or direction—it could be early morning or late afternoon. As I breathed in deeply, trying to settle my nerves, a mixture of smells bombarded me. Freshly turned dirt, manure, pine, something rotten and something sweet. I knew that these were the smells of a farm, because I remembered some of them from Geryon's ranch.

A dark-skinned boy looked me over. "Welcome to the Glade, Greenbean."

I pretended to be bewildered. It wasn't hard, as I had lots of experience, especially since I was dating the smartest girl in Camp. "The Glade? What's the Glade?"

"Your new home," a blond answered. "What's your name, shank?"

I wanted to ask what a "shank" was, but I held it back. "Percy. Why don't I remember anything?"

A couple laughs sounded from the boys. One kid smirked at me. _Idiot. I could beat the hell out of him._ I shook my head to clear that thought. Only Ares made me angry enough to hurt a mortal.

"None of us do," the dark one replied. "All we remember is our names." Just like Zeus said.

"So what are yours?" I asked. I could tell he was the leader of this gang of boys.

"I'm Alby," he responded. "And this is my second-in-command, Newt." He pointed at the blond who had answered me earlier.

My senses tingled. _Newt._ This was one of the kids I was supposed to protect. But where were the other three?

"We'll take you out on the Tour tomorrow," Alby promised, "But until then, I'll get someone to make sure you don't break anything today. Chuck!"

A small, chubby kid trotted up to us. He was about twelve or thirteen, and had an extremely enthusiastic expression on his face.

"Hi, Percy," he said happily. "I'm Chuck, and I'm gonna show you around your new home!"

My new home.

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><p><strong>So whaddya think? Yay or nay?<strong>

**Please review! Tell me any ideas you might have that would work for this fanfic, anything you might like to see, etc. **

**I'll try to update soon!**


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